1. When you first open an OAKS Course you will be taken to the Course Home page.  This is also the first page both you and the students will see when accessing the class, so it's an important page.

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2. The first thing to show you on this page is the Announcements tool.  

It allows you to put a message for your students front and center and that they see as soon as they enter your class.   If they choose, they can be notified of new announcements.

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3. To make a new announcement click the dropdown arrow next to Announcements.

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4. Click New Announcements

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5. The Headline is similar to the subject for an email or a headline for an article.

Click Headline.

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6. Type in your Headline for your announcement then press Return or Enter on your keyboard.  This is required.

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7. Type in the body of your announcement in Content then press Return or Enter on your keyboard.  This is also required.

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8. Scroll down to Always show start date.  I prefer to leave it checked so you and your users know when the announcement originally posted.

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9. Select a Start Date and Time.  This is optional.

This determines the date and time the announcement will appear on your Course Home. 

By default, it will display immediately.

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10. If you choose, you can also select an End Date and Time.  

This will determine when the announcement will leave the Course Home. By default, it will stay there and move down when new announcements are added.

Click the box next to Remove.

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11. Here you can set the Date/Time the announcement will automatically disappear from the Course Home.

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12. Scroll down and notice you can add attachments by clicking on Add a File to upload something from your computer, or Record Audio to allow you to record an audio file.  

Record Video is not an option at this time.

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13. When finished, click Publish

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14. Click Course Home to view the announcement on the main course page.

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15. EDIT AN ANNOUNCEMENT

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16. To edit and announcement, scroll down and click dropdown arrow next to the announcement headline.

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17. Click Edit

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18. Edit anything you'd like.

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19. When finish, scroll down and click Update

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20. Click Course Home to view the updated announcement on the main course page.

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21. TO DELETE AN ANNOUNCEMENT

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22. To delete an assignment, do not use the "X" to the far right.  That only dismisses it from your view but not that of your students.

Instead, scroll down and click the dropdown arrow next to the announcement to delete.

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23. Click Delete

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24. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

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25. Now the announcement has been deleted for all.

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26. On the right you'll notice the Calendar and Upcoming Events. 

This area is auto-populated by the dates that you put within the different tools in OAKS.  For example, a Due Date for an Assignment will display in the Upcoming Events area.

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27. The Course Home also houses your link to VT. Scroll down you'll see the link to your VoiceThread on the right side.  

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28. IMPORTANT: Click Access VoiceThread for this Course and click Course View when prompted.

NOTE: If you do not click Course View you cannot change it later.  You must change your entire homepage to fix the error.

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29. The Course Home is also the first place you'll see the course navigation.

The upper navigation in OAKS contains all of the tools you'll need to teach your class with OAKS.  

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30. This concludes your tour of the OAKS Course Home.

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Interactive tutorial

** Best experienced in Full Screen (click the icon in the top right corner before you begin) **